I'm not sure what "reasonably priced" mean to you, but I'd like to share what we did last summer for a "reasonable price".

I know your post said tropical, and our trip was not tropical, but water-related and a lot of fun. We stayed at a campground on the river in a state park. I am NOT a camper, but we had an air-conditioned cabin with a shower and a kitchen...and an outdoor hottub for adult time. I like to call it luxury camping. There was an indoor pool, a lake, a river, fishing, canoeing, tubing, campfires, campground activities for the kids.

It was very reasonably priced and close enough to drive to. We had a small vacation budget of about $1,000, and we were able to stay within that.

We stayed for a long weekend, but we plan on going back this year for a whole week. Eveyone loved it. Our youngest was 3 and the older two were 8.

If you have your heart set on the beach, I'm sure you could find similar accomadations on the coast somewhere. Sometimes it's not how far you go, just the fact that you can "get away"!

Hope that helps and that you get some more ideas because I'd like to hear them too!!

That sounds great. Can I ask the name of the camp and where it is??

oh my,

Thanks for the idea. Last summer we did something very similar to that with our kids. They had a great time. This year we really wanted to go somewhere tropical though, as I have never left the U.S. After this year we are planning on having another child and may never get the chance to travel out of the country for years. We have seen many all-inclusive deals for about 3,000-4,000 for a week including airfare. It is a little expensive.

Have you looked into Carnival cruises? The ones to the Bahamas aren't bad & they provide childcare I think. I know the Disney cruises do but they are expensive.
How about Mexico? Where do you live? East/West/South/North
I love vacations but haven't taken one in years. Brittani & I vacationed twice a year. I used to live in FL & there are pretty beaches there. Englewood is nice & reasonable. I loved St Augustine. I live in WA now & planning a getaway to the Oregon coast. Midweek is always cheaper for hotels.

We go to the Fl Keys every yr, we are fortunate enough to have a place to stay there, but there are many reasonable family oriented places esp around Ilsemadora/Marathon.

The dolphin research lab is there & they have lots of kids programs, there is snorkeling, deap sea fishing trips, beaches etc. It's very laid back. Bahia Honda State prk has beach camping-it's great and we took my youngest s-son & my son about 5 yr.s ago they had a great time & the dolphins and stingrays followed them while they snorkeled!

Key west is a fun day trip but get the kiddies out by dark as it gets a little wild then. there is a website fla-keys.com where you can get touristy info & even check condo rentals.

We fly into Ft Lauderdale & drive from there, way cheaper, esp if you are near a spirit airlines they have super cheap flights.

I'm thinking of going to the DR, Puerto Plata in a few months and while the resort is pretty cheap & all inclusive the flight from Miami is pricey. There were lots of activities for kids at most of the resorts I looked at.

There are tons of all inclusive resorts there. I hear the the US Virgin Islands are becoming pretty crime infested and unsafe, Frommers has some really good forums regarding traveling with kids & kid frindly resorts, you should go & read some posts there, a very good travel resource.

Whatever you choose have a great time! When I retire I want to be a professional beach bum :0)

With kids that age, I think a 3 or 4 day cruise would be the best. Older kids would enjoy longer. There is lots to do, they have camp carnival for kids that are in age groups and keep them busy. They also have babysitting when camp carnival is closed. The cheapest months to go are November and January. The weather on the West Coast is usually good (it has gotten bumpy though too) at that time, even though back home, it was cold. We have also been on Royal Caribbean and my husband liked the food better but carnival seems to have more for kids. A short cruise could be as low as $1000.00 plus spending money. (they take a lot of pictures and it's hard to not buy them) There is also a shopping mall, nightclubs, casino, and so many things to do, you aren't going to be in your room very much. The cheapest fare I've seen is $199 per person but average rate is $300-350 per person for the first two adults, 3rd 4th & 5th person are less.

We have also gone to Las Vegas a few times. There's quite a bit for kids there. They tried for a while to promote it for families. I took my kids on the tour of Hoover Dam. It was great & they loved it. I know that's not tropical but it is in the desert. lol

We have done Vegas with kids and without kids because I have relatives there. With Florida we are just worried about paying for EVERTING and it getting expensive, so all-inclusives are sounding good. We thought about cruises, but my sd gets motion sickness badly. On long car rides she vomits. So we are afraid she will also get motion sickness on a cruise. (though she has not gotton sick on airplanes? go figure)

I know there is dramamine and other meds, but the idea of doping her up for the whole trip is not appealing! And the idea of spending all that money for one of us to sit in the room at all times with a sick child is even less appealing!

Though my dh and I would love to take a childless cruise eventually! Just hard to get away without the kids and we can only afford to do one vacation this year, so we would rather take a family one.

We have been looking at some of the all-inclusive resorts in the DR.....a lot of them include airfare too. I have not really seen any good deals from midwest to DR, so I am thinking we might book all-inclusive with airfare instead of doing them seperatly. Thanks for all your advice. If you have anymore please send it my way!!